


Most Precious, Colette

by talesofsymphoniac



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 09:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7430697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesofsymphoniac/pseuds/talesofsymphoniac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night before Colette enters the Tower of Salvation to complete the angel transformation, Raine needs a moment to herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Most Precious, Colette

The time had come.

Colette was good at hiding it, but Raine could see how pale her face was. She smiled at dinner with Lloyd and Genis and Sheena as usual, but every once in a while, when no one else was looking, her expression became wistful, and she’d look at Lloyd with so much longing and sorrow that she seemed like she could collapse of it.

Raine sat in the corner by the fire. Alone, which was usual. Staring at the poor young woman, sad but trying so hard to act happy. As for Raine, she felt guilt and sadness and love in equal measure.

Genis would be devastated. They both would. Lloyd would likely rage against Kratos, who had known the truth all along. And as for Raine, well…

Silently, she excused herself from the dining hall. She knew Kratos was out here somewhere, though she didn’t see him. She didn’t especially want to, either. She needed to be alone.

The sun dipped behind the peak of Hima, and Raine tried not to turn it into a metaphor of Colette’s remaining time, dwindling away like the last sands in an hourglass. Raine felt blank, her face like hard slate. If she allowed herself to dwell on it, she could very well crack. And if she were to crack, it should be well away from the others. They needed her strength, at this moment more than any other.

Out of the corner of her eye, Raine saw an approaching figure. Taking a breath, swallowing back her emotions again, she met Colette’s concerned gaze.

“Hello, Colette,” she said, her voice hollow and rough. The young girl smiled and took a seat next to her on an outcropping of rock. They were only a little ways up the peak and could see the small town below, as well as the land miles around Hima. The sky was darkening.

“How are you doing?” Raine asked softly.

Colette gently took the hand she offered. F-I-N-E, she traced over her palm. Y-O-U-?

Raine smiled. It was so typical of Colette; even on the day of her own death, she worried about others. “I--” Raine’s voice broke and she found she couldn’t finish. She tried again. “Colette, I’m fine.” She knew that Colette saw through her as easily as she’d seen through Colette at dinner. She squeezed Raine’s hand.

Raine coughed, struggling again to hide her emotion. “Colette…” The girl reached over and pulled her teacher into a firm hug, tucking her head into the crook of Raine’s neck. Raine held her close, reaching up to stroke fingers through her long blond hair. Her eyes shut tight, and the beginnings of tears began to wet her eyelashes.

“When you were little,” Raine whispered, feeling smooth hair beneath her fingers as she continued to comb. “You would sometimes stay after class, long after everyone else left. The third time, I asked if you were okay… you sprang up and hugged me exactly like this.” Raine felt Colette grip her tighter, breathe sharply, and knew she wanted to cry. She couldn’t. Not anymore.

“When I found out what… what it was, I was furious. It was so human. A sacrifice to save themselves.” Tears had dripped down Raine’s cheeks now, and her voice scratched. “You kept coming. And sometimes you’d cry and I’d hold you and wonder why a goddess would put someone so pure through so much.”

“Colette… you know you don’t have to do this. You could leave. Let the world die. It would be no less than they deserve.” She felt Colette shake her head slightly, and she gave a watery laugh. “I know you won’t. You brave, selfless girl. If only all humans could be like you.”

Colette leaned back, looking down so her face was hidden, and took Raine’s hand. “Thank you for being my teacher,” she wrote. “It was hard, sometimes… but you were there.” She hesitated before adding, “Sometimes more than my own parents.”

Raine wiped her eyes with her other hand. “I’m so, so sorry for what you’ve been put through. You’ve been so brave.” She brought a hand back to Colette’s hair, pulling her back into the hug. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could stop this.”

They sat like that for a few more minutes, though the dusk became a dark night. Raine’s tears had stopped. She wouldn’t cry any more, from now until they were back in Iselia and she was alone… if they could get back to Iselia, at least. For now, she would be strong for Genis and Lloyd.

“I’m honored to have been your teacher,” Raine said at last. “My most precious student.”


End file.
